Suspect arrested 3,000 miles away from where he ‘strangled California woman to death on her bedroom floor’ in 1991 finally appears in court
The suspected killer of a California woman found strangled in her bedroom has finally appeared in court more than 30 years later.
Alfredo Hernandez, 66, is accused of killing his girlfriend Terri Bistodeau, then 39, at her home in San Diego’s Emerald Hills neighborhood on August 4, 1991.
Prosecutors said he was arrested 3,000 miles (5,000 kilometers) from the crime scene in El Salvador in 2021 after the country accepted a U.S. extradition request.
He was arraigned in California court on Thursday and pleaded not guilty to murder.
Hernandez was linked to the killing by DNA and fingerprint evidence left at Bistodeau’s Geneva Avenue home, according to police.
The suspected murderer of Californian woman Terri Bistodeau (photo), who was found strangled in her bedroom in 1991, has finally been arrested more than thirty years later.
Alfredo Hernandez (pictured), 66, is accused of killing his girlfriend Terri Bistodeau, then 39, in her San Diego home
BIstodeau was found strangled in her home (pictured) on Geneva Avenue in San Diego’s Emerald Hills neighborhood in August 1991. Finally a suspect has been arrested.
Deputy District Attorney Chris Lindberg said Hernandez had been a suspect at the time of the killing, but there was insufficient evidence to arrest him.
The case remained dormant for 30 years when subsequent attempts to revive the investigation in 2002 and 2006 hit a dead end.
But the use of modern DNA testing led to a breakthrough in 2019, according to the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office.
Lindberg said Hernandez twice admitted to killing Bistodeau when interviewed by investigators after his arrest, Lindberg said. NBC San Diego.
The suspect faces life behind bars in state prison if convicted.
He remains in custody without bail following Thursday’s court appearance.
Bistodeau was found strangled in August 1991 in her home on Geneva Avenue in San Diego’s Emerald Hills neighborhood. Finally a suspect has been arrested.
San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan released a statement this week about the long-awaited arrest.
βThe family and friends of Terri Bistodeau waited 33 years for her killer to be linked to the crime through DNA evidence and return to San Diego to finally face justice,β she said.